Aurelion: The Coin is a VN adaptation of the eponymous novel collectively written by Lights amidst Shadows. The story features fireballs and jetpacks, elves, dwarves, kobolds and corrupt paladins, a quest for the reasons why magic is waning, social unrest, and unorthodox methods for fixing faulty technology. But under the glittery surface, it’s about personal growth and relationships.

Like ... most every other VN, yes?

We’re happy to present the first official world demo. It covers about one tenth of the whole story, and it’s still missing some of its parts. But it’s playable, it’s (we hope) readable, and it even contains a nasty ending. (We’re certain it won’t take you long to discover it.)

1. Join our team. We can never get enough artists: that’s why that scene lacks a CG ... you’ll see which one. We also appreciate people with a penchant for English, to correct our egregious errors. Also: soundtrack composers and Python programmers and Ren’Py wizards—we won’t turn you away.

This project will (most likely) be driven by donations only. We make sure to split any money thrown our way among the whole team, proportionally to the efforts of each member.

Oh, and my name is Kalin M. Nenov but I’d rather you call me Kal. I act as the creative director and All-Around Prodder of this project. I’m always looking forward to questions. (Except when I’m down: I’m bipolar, so if a question of yours goes unanswered for a long time—and then another—and then another—it means I’m probably struggling to get up again. That may take a while. However, if it was only a single question, I’ve probably missed it; please ask again.)

P.S. “Prodder” is:

a) not a misspelled version of “Producer” or something, but a neologism coined from the verb “prod” (and it’s not a joyful duty, mind you);

b) an instance of my odd sense of humor. Please do not feel offended by anything I may tell you. I’m most likely kidding.

P.P.S. I've added a brief introduction to our creative team (tentatively known as "Aurelians") on my personal blog.

I'm an artist and would like to get involved. How can I help specifically?

Besides that missing CG *the team exhibits a gallery of unhappy faces*, we have a list of sprites and their respective emotions that still need to be drawn. And as the story progresses, the list will be expanding. Please hop on board right away.

Also, there will be other important scenes in need of CG. These special CG seem to be the most time-consuming element--yet they also add the most impact to the experience. Would you care to have some impact?

On music and SFX

Can you add some sounds to help distinguish between the characters? (Like in, say, Undertale.)

For us, this is a "stretch goal." We'd very much like to do it (beautifully ) and will be looking for the right voice actors. But first let's complete the story itself.

(If we can't find voice actors, or can't afford them, we'll consider the SFX option too. Although it can get jarring after a while ... there'll be at least 10 hours of reading in the complete version. Imagine listening to the same effects over and over again. )

What tools did you use for composing the music?

Alexander “Mordred” Andonov wrote:FL Studio 11, and some of the older tunes were recorded and "mixed" entirely on my iPad (Garage Band).

Hristo “Atriell” Georgiev wrote:I also use FL Studio but it's FL Studio 8 (I couldn't get used to the new versions). I do absolutely everything in it because I don't record and edit real instruments and what FL Studio is capable of is good enough for me. The samples I use are imported plugins, mostly by Native Instruments - the East West Quantum Leap series - EWQL Symphonic Orchestra, EWQL Colossus, EWQL Ra and others. I also use libraries based on Kontakt Player.